Friday, December 7, 2012

There really is a Santa Claus! "Inmate Chris Pratt again denied parole"

Battle Creek Enquirer Link-December 12, 2012- A glimmer of a happy holiday to Cliff & Anita Marshall. It is not exactly the best news after 8 years, 8 months, & 24 days but at least Inmate Christopher Luke Pratt, MDOC# 673261 will not be home for the holidays, or anytime soon. The community and his victims are safe after the Michigan Department of Corrections, Parole Board again voted to keep this infamous violent felonious perpetrator in prison. The victim and others who have opposed his parole in the past received letters today advising that his parole request was again denied. It is our hope that Inmate Pratt will be held in prison until the expiration of his sentence in 2022, or until he is charged in a Calhoun County court with the disappearance and murder of Mary Denise Lands. MDOC Link- Inmate Christopher Luke Pratt, #673261 . He is presently incarcerated at Central Michigan Correctional Facility in St. Louis, Michigan. His next earliest eligibility release date is February 2014.

Cliff & Anita have now endured nine holiday seasons not knowing the fate of their beloved daughter, Mary. There are individuals out there who know exactly where Mary may be found. If you have any information on this case, please contact our newly elected Calhoun County Prosecutor, David Gilbert- 269.969.6980, Marshall Police Chief Jim Schwartz- 269.781.2596, or Sheriff-Elect Matt Saxton- 269.969.6450. If you wish, you may also remain anonymous.

The Marshall family would again like to thank all our friends and supporters for their help over these many years, and we wish you a happy, healthy, and safe holiday season.

Cliff, Anita, and I have stated for many years that we will never give up, and we won't. Together, we will bring Mary home! We believe it, and it will happen!
If you can help, please call, or contact law enforcement.

Jim Carlin
Justinian Investigative Services
Battle Creek, Michigan
269.753.1181, Cell- 269.274.6334
Email- JustinianLaw@sbcglobal.net


Friday, October 12, 2012

Sign Petition to Keep Inmate Christopher Luke Pratt in Prison

Today, Friday, October 12, 2012 marks 8 years and 7 months since Mary Denise Lands disappeared. Mary was last seen in the company of her fiance, Christopher Luke Pratt, who reported she walked away from their apartment in Marshall, Michigan. Inmate Christopher Luke Pratt is serving a 5-15 year sentence for violence against a more recent girl-friend. He was denied parole last year, however has again asked the Michigan Department of Corrections- Parole Board to release him.

Keep this violent felon in prison as he is a danger to society. If you have any information on the disappearance and murder of Mary Denise Lands, you are urged to contact the Marshall Police Department or Calhoun County Prosecutor's Office.
Help bring Mary home!
Sign our national criminal justice petition to keep Inmate Pratt incarcerated.

https://www.change.org/petitions/deny-parole-to-a-suspect-inmate-chrtistopher-luke-pratt-in-the-disappearance-of-mary-denise-lands

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Highers Brothers Released from Prison after 25 years-

August 13, 2012- After 25 years, Highers Brothers released from prison
Detroit Free Press News Feature
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012120813075

New Testimony on Highers Conviction draws interest of NBC Dateline  Testimony Continues, Read Detroit Free Press Story, March 12, 2012  
News Link- Detroit Free Press, March 11, 2012 Two Detroit men, Thomas & Raymond Highers were wrongfully convicted in 1987 for a murder in Detroit, and after working this case for the family it appears that justice may finally be just around the corner. A hearing has been scheduled for March 12, 2012 in the Wayne County Circuit Court Room of Judge Talon, which may be the first step in the path to their freedom. Another investigator and I have been working on this case for over three years and the Internet played an important part in having witnesses come forward and be interviewed. This would not have occurred without the help of zealous defense attorneys who like us, recognized that these men are innocent. Just as in the case of Mary Denise Lands, the wheels of justice grind slowly, however the system will work for these men, and soon the person/s responsible for the disappearance of murder of Mary Lands will be held accountable.
If you can offer any information on the Highers case or Mary's disappearance please call;
Jim Carlin- 269.753.1181


Sunday, July 8, 2012

Pratt asks for another parole after losing decision in October 2011


June 18, 2012-
Inmate Pratt again has asked the Michigan Department of Corrections for a parole. This violent felon must remain in prison until the expiration of his sentence in 2022 or until he is brought to Battle Creek and charged in the case of Mary Denise Lands. Just as we did last year, we asked the public to help and nearly 100 letters were sent to the Parole Board of MDOC requesting that Inmate Pratt not be paroled. We continue to receive threatening communications from the Pratt posse, however we will not stop until this violent individual is brought to justice. If you really want to help Inmate Pratt, call law enforcement and let them know where Mary is buried. All the family wishes to do is give their daughter a proper burial.  

October 8, 2011- UPDATE- PRATT DENIED PAROLE
Today was a great day in our quest for "Justice for Mary" as we learned that Inmate Christopher Luke Pratt will not be given parole at his first eligibility date in February 2012. It is our hope that he will continue to be incarcerated until his scheduled discharge date of June 2022 or until he is charged in a Calhoun County Court in the disappearance and murder of Mary Denise Lands
 

October 5, 2011- There has still been no decision released by the MDOC Parole Board on the request by Inmate Pratt to be released at his first eligibility date in February 2012. As soon as we learn of a ruling, it will be published.

September 14, 2011- Last week the MDOC Parole Board, for the first time since this felon went to prison, heard a request by Inmate Christopher Luke Pratt that he be granted parole. His earliest eligibility release date is February 2012. The decision of the full Board is expected within two weeks and we will keep you advised. In January 2008 Calhoun County Judge Stephen Miller sentenced this vicious perpetrator to 5-15 years in prison for the violent crimes against a more recent girl-friend. Inmate Pratt has now been incarcerated for 4 years and 3 months. Mary Denise Lands has now been missing for 7 years and 6 months.

June 24, 2011- It was 4 years ago today that this evil vicious perpetrator was taken into custody for the violent attack on his former girl-friend. She like Mary, thought this Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde sociopath would be a good husband, and father to their children. How wrong they were in that position. Inmate Pratt has been in custody now for 4 full years. Let's keep the psycho in custody for another 18, or until he tells the police where Mary may be recovered? 
June 22, 2010- Today, all the individuals and victims who are on the MDOC notification list for Inmate Pratt's transfers, change in level of incarceration, and/or parole hearings received official letters from Victim Services that his parole hearing has been scheduled. The recipients and/or the public have 30 days to respond. Please be sure to send a letter back to them if you wish to oppose parole. Your letters remain confidential and the inmate does not have access to them. Decisions are usually made by the Parole Board approximately one month after the hearing. Let's hope that we can have a happier holiday season knowing that the "Creeper" will not be paroled.

We have just received word that Christoper Luke Pratt- Inmate #673261 is scheduled for a Parole Board hearing during the week of September 5-9, 2011. His earliest release date is  February 12, 2012. This individual must not be released and returned to society as so many people are fearful of this sociopathic predator. It is our hope that he will remain in prison until the expiration of his sentence in June 2022 and/or he is charged for the disappearance and murder of Mary Denise Lands.
We urge you to complete the form link for MDOC noted on the right and send it to Lansing. The Parole Board does examine these forms and letters from concerned citizens in the community. This person is a severe danger to society and must never be released from prison. Do your part to keep the "Creeper" in prison.
Today, Mary has been missing for 7 years, 3 months, and 14 days. Inmate Pratt has only served 4 years of his 15 year sentence. On June 24, 2011, it will be the 4th anniversary of his violent assault on Noreene Parker. For her sake, his ex-wife, and those of his many  victims, including Mary Denise Lands, he must continue to be held in custody. Parole is unacceptable for this type of criminal. He can never be rehabilitated. He may be able to con prison officials at Central Michigan Correctional Facility, however even from prison he writes about returning home and picking up his guns, because they are such an important party of his life. Yes, Inmate Pratt, guns and violence are all you care about in life.
Read the letter from Ms. Parker to Judge Miller at the sentencing of Chris Pratt in January 2008. It may be found below by scrolling down, and it is also noted on the next post. It gives you a profound view of the mind of this sociopathic dysfunctional predator. We hope that the Michigan Department of Corrections and the Parole Board will also examine this letter.
Do you want someone like this returning to your community? He is a conniving, manipulative, dangerous, evil and violent  predator who will injure other innocent victims.
January 1, 2008
Re: Sentencing of Christopher Luke Pratt
Dear Honorable Judge Miller:

We see it every day on the news, "women battered, women killed, and women missing"….Looking back on June 24th, 2007 I realize I was one of the few women that walked away from the enraged hands of a controlling individual, such as Christopher Pratt. It’s true, loving Christopher Pratt does hurt; it hurts a lot and it is a hurt that does not go away once the relationship is through. People tell me how lucky I was to get away and how proud they are of me standing up and facing him. Although I did walk away physically that day I do not know if I will ever escape him mentally; myself and my children included. The humiliation of what I have gone through during this trial has been an embarrassment I will never forget, nor will my friends, family and co-workers.
Christopher’s doing caused me to move out of the home we shared, moving myself and my children three times in six months before we finally settled. I have incurred medical bills, as well as counseling costs as well. In addition my employer hired extra guards to make sure I came and went from their facility in a safe manner while his bond was active.
He has destroyed my trust, my solitude of feeling "safe" as well as my children’s sense of safety. "If he comes home will he find us?" is a common question from the mouth of my nine year-old son. My nightmares of Christopher and that day wake me in the night, as does the little one standing beside my bed. "Can I sleep with you…are you sure Chris is still in jail?" His shadow will forever lurk in our minds.
Christopher recently made a comment from his jail cell, which entailed, "Make sure she doesn’t make it to the witness stand or I am fucked". What exactly was his evil intent behind this? Although he is locked up now, I am constantly looking over my shoulder and seldom go out at night, especially if no one is with me. I am fearful of anyone I don’t know that approaches me..fearful it’s someone that is doing Chris’ dirty work for him. Christopher is a man of trophies, of possessions, and I, in his eyes, am his forever. He has made the comment, "If I can’t have you, No one will"….and to my father, "If your daughter leaves me I will hunt her down and get her back". This behavior is not normal and for the most part, unsettling. His intents and his so-called empty threats…are too real for me..real because I know he is fully capable of fulfilling each and every threat he made to me…capable because he is one that cares not what he does, but that in his eyes, he wins at doing it.
Christopher is, in my opinion, a narcissistic evil and one of the world’s best liars. But the problem for him and a blessing for us is, he forgets what he has lied about and walks into his own net eventually. Although Christopher will tell you he is never wrong, all his problems are caused by other individuals. Christopher is fully aware of his own evil. He has told me in a fit of tears on more than one occasion that he has done things to make himself sick, that I should not be with him, however he added, "I am too selfish to let you go". Christopher also noted to a letter to his son,…"It’s because of Norrene I am here, if she hadn’t provoked me I wouldn’t have lost my temper, however Son, the good thing is that God has a place for men like me and its called prison." He knows he is a danger to me.
Christopher promised me a long and happy life with him, stating we will be sitting in our rocking chairs side by side one day…if that was the case, why was he throwing chairs at me? Simple in my mind today, he was trying to make sure I never left him…even if he had to attempt to break my ankles doing so, he would never allow me to leave him.
Your Honor, I am asking you to consider maximum sentencing possible. Letting him go on anything less, will most certainly bring dread to my family and our community. Even if he is let out with a "no contact condition", I can guarantee within an hour of his release, he will be at my doorstep. He has no authority for the guidelines for which you set, as he proved by attempting to contact me within minutes of being released from your courtroom the same day you issued a "no contact" guideline between him and me. Christopher taunts authority and does not like to be told what to do, more so, he resents the word "No".
Christopher harms children, women and animals without considering the repercussions of his actions. Do you think they forget as easily as you do? Well, they don’t. Christopher I never will and I know my children will not forget the wake you have left behind in our lives. Christopher is a man that will not learn his lesson with a slap on the hands, he is someone who has the potential to harm others for the sake of his own well-being. He is habitual. I honestly believe Christopher is lacking a human conscience, and because of this I pray for him. I pray that he finds it in himself to consider every evil thing he has done and come clean with it. Christopher can’t take back the tears he placed in my sons eyes the day he put us through this, nor can he take away the emptiness he placed in their hearts with the betrayal he brought out after promising to be so good to them and to their Mom. In my eyes, no sentencing handed to him is justifiable enough, but I know God will sentence him one day and when that day comes…God have mercy on your soul Christopher Pratt.
Again, Your Honor, please consider the maximum sentencing that is reasonable and prudent to this manner, and do so with the thought of myself and children in mind, of every soul he has waltzed upon without hesitation to their lives, their feelings, their well being. Anything less will result in a profound nightmare.
Respectfully,
Norrene Parker


Friday, March 2, 2012

Where is Sgt. T.J. Bryant of the Marshall Police Department? Is he Missing in Action?

Many of you have followed the exploits of Sgt. T.J. Bryant of the Marshall Police Department over the years and wondered how he could possibly keep his job? It has been reported that he is missing? Whatever his status is, he is no longer among Marshall Police Department's elite finest.
We are aware that there are some who were reluctant to come forward with information about Mary's disappearance because they did not trust certain individuals at MPD. This attitude has changed since Chief Jim Schwartz took over and a look at MPD today shows that it is a law enforcement agency of great integrity with the sole objective to serve the people of Marshall. The city's "Top Cop" has done an outstanding job in changing the image of his agency, and it is one that that can make all of us proud.
If you have any information about Mary's case, please contact; Chief Schwartz or D/Lt. Scott McDonald of the Marshall Police Department;
269.781.3431.
It is ironic that Sgt. Bryant's departure from Marshall Police Department occurs so close to the anniversary of the disappearance of Mary Denise Lands. On March 12, 2012 she will have been missing and a victim of homicide for 8 years.
Help bring Mary home, so that Cliff & Anita Marshall can finally have some closure.
Jim Carlin
269.753.1181
Email- JustinianLaw@sbcglobal.net

Monday, January 30, 2012

Mary Denise Lands/S.A.F.E Place Balloon Project & Silent Witness National Initiative

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month

October 8, 2011- UPDATE- PRATT DENIED PAROLE
Today was a great day in our quest for "Justice for Mary" as we learned that Inmate Christopher Luke Pratt will not be given parole at his first eligibility date in February 2012. It is our hope that he will continue to be incarcerated until his scheduled discharge date of June 2022, or until he is charged in a Calhoun County Court for the disappearance and murder of Mary Denise Lands.

At 10:00 A.M. on Tuesday, October 11, 2011 at the Calhoun County Criminal Justice Center (1st floor atrium) we will hold a press conference to announce the Mary Denise Lands/S.A.F.E. Place Balloon project. It will be on ongoing effort as a legacy to Mary Denise Lands, and all the other victims of domestic violence.

S.A.F.E. Place Executive Director Jennifer Fopma will be present and also unveil a new national project that recognizes victims of abuse. It is called the Silent Witness National Initiative. The project highlights the silhouette of anonymous victims, and includes a breastplate with words from the families of those who have been abused. Mary's inscription will be the first one produced by S.A.F.E. Place Shelter.

We anticipate having representatives of local law enforcement and the Calhoun County Prosecutor's Office present and they will speak for a few minutes on how we can promote public awareness against domestic violence in our community.

Domestic violence is defined as a "pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship that is used by one partner to gain or maintain power and control over another intimate partner". The violence  can be described as physical, sexual, emotional, economic or psychological abuse that is designed to exert power and control.

The Marshall family and I hope that this legacy for their daughter will inspire others on the national tragedy of domestic violence. If one victim can be saved from injury or death, Mary Denise Lands will not have died in vain. We will never give up our efforts to bring Mary home, and to ask for justice in her case. 

Jim Carlin, M.A. MFT
Justinian Investigative Services
Battle Creek, Michigan

Thursday, January 5, 2012

"Lee's Legacy"- U.S. Army veteran murdered in New Year's Day tragedy

Help create "Lee's Legacy" It was indeed a pleasure today to be invited by the Taylor family to the service that was attended by hundreds of family and friends. A military conculsion to the service was completed with Taps and an American flag being given to his wife Lyn. Later, Captain Oscar Brady Post No. 298 & our Auxiliary hosted a funeral luncheon for all and it was a great event on behalf of the decease veteran, Leeroy J. "Lee" Taylor. He was a member of our Post, and a U.S. Army veteran who was tragically murdered on New Year's Day.
I spoke to the family and have an idea to create an annual memorial for Mr. Taylor, in which we could get together each year to advocate against violence in our community. Mr. Taylor was a great person and beloved by all who would come into contact with him. Many of the friends at the service helped in the last few years in promoting public awareness of the "Ride for Mary". As most of you know, Mary Denise Lands has now been missing for 7 years, 9 months, and 24 days. I hope that the Taylor family will find comfort and peace and that justice will prevail in this tragedy. A suitable name for an annual event could be; "Lee's Legacy". Let's all make this happen. We must never forget what happened to this veteran.


You may view and sign the Guestbook for Lee offered by Shaw Funeral Home & the Battle Creek Enquirer-
Lee Taylor Guestbook- Shaw Funeral Home, Battle Creek
Lee Taylor Guestbook- Battle Creek Enquirer

Jim Carlin
Adjutant, Post No. 298
1st Vice Commander, 3rd District Association